Mom, Dad, Meet the Pharaoh
by Chocolate369
Summary: Yugi's parents want to know what's been going on with Yugi. Yugi wants to tell his parents about the Pharaoh. When Mr. and Mrs. Muto learn everything, what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Yugioh

Telling the Parents

What in the world was going on with Yugi?

The thought repeated itself over and over in Hidekazu Muto's mind as he lay sprawled out on his bed in his small apartment next to his wife, Momose, who was visiting him for a few weeks, leaving Yugi home with his grandfather. The window was open and a cool night breeze occasionally blew through, buffering the light purple curtains and flipping over the papers on his bedside table, but failing to relax his racing thoughts.

He was actually surprised nobody else who knew Yugi, besides Momose, ever mentioned anything. Watching his son dueling on TV and comparing him to his most recent school pictures, he wondered how not one noticed those differences: the hair, the eyes, the height, and even their postures and the air they excluded; Yugi was kind and mostly timid in person, while on TV he radiated confidence and occasionally even cockiness. Momose had also confided in him that Yugi had been talking to himself a lot recently, and Hidekazu's heart nearly punched right through his chest when she let slip that Yugi had nearly died in a fire putting that puzzle Solomon gave him back together. _What in the world would possess him to do that?_ he wondered as he tossed and turned.

Questioning his son over the phone never helped. Yugi had just said that the puzzle was important to him, and when Hidekazu questioned him about dueling, Yugi just said dueling gave him confidence. Hidekazu wasn't fooled. He may not have seen Yugi for a while, but his son had stuttered over nearly every word during that phone call, like he always did when lying or holding something back. He knew there was more to it than Yugi was admitting, but no matter how hard he coaxed, Yugi wouldn't say anything else on the topic. When he'd asked his father, Hidekazu knew Solomon was holding back information as well, even if the old man claimed he didn't know everything. Solomon had just said he wasn't sure if his son would believe his theories, "since they involve magic," Solomon had said with a huff, and refused to elaborate on the matter. It wasn't easy, but eventually the subject was dropped.

He'd heard Solomon's story of when he found the Millennium Puzzle, but had always scoffed at the idea of a pharaoh's ghost saving his father's life and chalked it up to a delusion on Solomon's part from his treacherous guide striking him on the head and nearly sending him tumbling down into a dark and seemingly bottomless pit.

Now a part of Hidekazu was having second thoughts. Only a few days ago, as he and Momose had been enjoying a stroll in a park under a starry sky during a cool evening, strange gray creatures in medieval armor had randomly emerged from crystals scattered all over the city, surrounding innocent bystanders with a weird green star and leaving them comatose on the sidewalk. The peaceful park had descended into pandemonium, with people running in every direction, jumping into the lake and climbing over rocks and benches to escape. He and Momose had managed to crawl underneath a small bridge crossing the creek and avoid the creatures, though Hidekazu could still feel the bridge shaking and trembling as the creatures stomped slowly over it and remembered clenching the support so hard his hands had bled.

He forced the images out of his mind. All of the unfortunate victims were awake and released from the hospital. Everything was fine.

His stomach twisted. Before those medieval armored monsters started running rampant, monsters that appeared to be from that card game his dad and son were obsessed with had spread a reign of terror over the city, crunching the tops of skyscrapers and terrorizing the sky.

Hidekazu didn't believe a gaming company could pull that off, and neither did Momose. Holograms didn't leave claw marks on his work building. No, there was either some crazy geneticist who possessed a love of Duel Monsters experimenting on animals, or—dare he say it—magic was at work here.

He'd confided his thoughts to Momose earlier this evening and, to his surprise and relief, she'd been thinking about the same thing, and both had come to the undeniable conclusion that magic was real.

Of course, this opened up a whole new set of possibilities and ideas. The latest of which involved their son. Ever since Yugi had solved that puzzle, according to Momose, he'd been acting weird, bold one second, his old self the next. Not to mention the times his appearance changed. What little he and Momose knew took them back to Solomon's stories about the Puzzle. He claimed it had once belonged to a Pharaoh and contained magic used by Ancient Egyptians. Unfortunately, they still knew too little about magic to even guess what might be going on with their son.

Momose rolled over, exhausted understanding crossing her face as she saw him awake. "Can't sleep either?"

"No," he replied, his face half buried in his pillow.

"Wishing you could talk to Yugi now that we're at least semi-open to the idea of magic?"

He chuckled without humor. "You read my mind." He sighed. "Would he even talk to us about it?" he asked, spreading his arms.

"Well, we're open to the idea now. And we'll see him in just a little while. We can try," she replied, their unspoken wish hanging in the air as another breeze wafted through the room, heavier than the others. Neither of them noticed the man outside their apartment.

Little did they know, Yugi was wishing for the same thing they were. As he laid down on the yellow leather couch in Professor Hawkins's trailer with the air conditioner cranked to full blast, his thoughts drifted to his parents. On the way back to the city after defeating Dartz, the Pharaoh had shared his memories with him, filling him in on everything that had happened after the Orichalcos captured him. Yugi had realized that on the way to KaibaCorp, the Pharaoh and the others would have flown directly over the city where his parents were. _Too bad I wasn't there; I could've called and told them I was flying right over them_.

Yugi frowned, trying to dispel the thought. That wouldn't have gone over well; his parents would've wanted to know what he was doing and wouldn't be pleased to learn he had flown all that way because of theories about some ancient magical force. His parents didn't believe in magic, and he knew trying to tell them about the Pharaoh would more than likely result in a car ride to the nearest mental hospital. He knew they knew he was lying when he talked about the warehouse fire and his supposedly different dueling 'attitude' as they called it, but he didn't know what else to tell them. There were a couple of times he'd accidentally wished out loud that he could tell them—the most recent being tonight. Thankfully, only the Pharaoh had ever heard him.

Or so he thought.

Yugi eventually managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning for what seemed like hours in the Hawkins' trailer When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in the middle of his soul room, everything exactly as he'd left it the last time; toys and videogames scattered all over the floor, only this time there was a bed sitting in the corner.

His eyes widened someone knocked on his door. Yugi had been under the impression that the Pharaoh wanted to rest. Maybe he was checking in on Yugi.

Yugi chuckled. Yami was so overprotective. Maybe he could convince the spirit to relax by suggesting a game. "Come in," he called.

It was _not_ the Pharaoh who stepped inside. Yugi froze. "Shadi?" he gasped.

The guardian of the Millennium Items grinned slightly. "My apologies for disturbing you Yugi," he said as he closed the door.

"What's wrong? Was a Millennium Item stolen?" he asked frantically. "I'll get the Pharaoh—"

"No Yugi, the cosmic balance has not been disturbed." Shadi assured him, raising his right hand. "I am here to repay a debt."

Yugi blinked. "A debt?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes," Shadi confirmed. "Do you not remember? You saved my life when I was searching the corridors of the Pharaoh's mind."

He remembered. "Oh, yeah. But you told me and the Pharaoh about the Egyptian God cards and—"

"I was merely carrying out my duty, Yugi," Shadi interrupted. "I still owe you a debt, and now the time has come to pay it." The man smiled gently. "Many times I have observed you and the Great Pharaoh as you have progressed through your journey. Tonight, I heard you wish you could inform your parents of the events of your life."

Yugi blushed. "Yeah, I do. But they don't really believe in magic, so I can't say anything."

"I have observed your mother and father several times as well. Recently, their opinions have begun to change, as a result of the magical events surrounding your latest mission. They now believe that magic exists, and they suspect there is more to your Puzzle than they originally thought."

"They're actually beginning to believe in magic?" Yugi asked, slack jawed.

"They already believe in it Yugi. Do you want to tell them of the part it has played in your destiny?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Yugi exclaimed. "But I don't know what Dad's work hours are now, and I'm not sure how busy Mom is with him…"

"Yugi," said Shadi. "I have brought them here with me. They are in the corridor as we speak."

Yugi's jaw dropped. "No way! Seriously?"

"Yes. I appeared to them and told them I could help answer their questions. After they agreed to trust me, I brought them here, and told them to wait in the hallway while I spoke to someone. Shall I bring them in?"

Yugi hesitated. He wanted so much to tell them everything, to have them know about Yami. Yugi knew how alone the Pharaoh felt sometimes, how weary he was from usually taking charge of situations and taking care of people. He wanted his parents to know Yami and accept him, maybe give the Pharaoh someone he could go to when he felt he couldn't solve every problem on his own and didn't feel he could go to Yugi. This was a chance to give Yami that.

However, he wasn't sure what his parents would think of him. The Pharaoh was a good person who cared about Yugi, but he didn't know what his mom and dad would think when they learned about the Orichalcos. Sure the Pharaoh had gotten him back, and he'd never meant for Yugi to be taken in the first place, but they might only see that Yugi had been taken by something dangerous. Not to mention passing out in the duel with Pegasus, and the whole Battle City tournament. He didn't want his parents to hate Yami.

But he owed it to his mom and dad to tell them, didn't he? Yugi knew that they were worried about him and they didn't deserve that. Besides, maybe they wouldn't blame Yami for what happened. Yugi could tell them how the spirit always tried to protect him, that he'd give his life for Yugi in a heartbeat if needed. When it came right down to it, Yugi wanted to tell them, they wanted to know, and Yami always felt guilty that he made them worry about Yugi.

Yugi turned to face Shadi again. "All right. Bring them in," he said without hesitation.

Shadi nodded and opened the door again, beckoning to his parents.

A few moments later, his mom and dad walked inside, staring in surprise at the room and its contents before their eyes fell on their son. "Yugi!" Momose exclaimed, hurrying towards him.

"Where are we?" asked Hidekazu, still too surprised to move.

"We are inside your son's mind. What you see here represents his heart and soul," Shadi explained, "and it is here where you will see your son's memories and learn."

"His memories?" questioned Hidekazu.

Shadi nodded. "While inside his mind, I can access his memories. However, I will show you only the ones he wishes to share with you," he confirmed. "I will give you time to discuss what you want to share with them," he said, stepping back into the corridor.

Yugi frowned slightly. "What do you guys want to know?" he asked, sitting down on the bed.

Momose sighed as she sat down on Yugi's left side with Hidekazu taking the right. "Well, truthfully, we want to know everything." She shook her head. "There's just so much we don't understand. We didn't even believe in magic until a few days ago."

"And even though we're sure it exists," said Hidekazu, " we don't have a clue how any of it operates. Let alone how much it's a part of your life. We want to know everything." He paused, then smiled. "But we want you to share what you feel comfortable sharing. You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to."

"It's not that," Yugi explained. "I want you to know everything too. It's just that, well…" he trailed off, burying his face in his hands.

"Yes," Momose gently prompted.

"What if…" Yugi glanced at each of them. "What if I told you that, five thousand years ago, an Egyptian Pharaoh used magic to seal his soul away in my Puzzle to save the world. And that when I put the Puzzle together, my spirit bonded with his."

Their eyes bulged.

Momose found her voice first. "And is this spirit, um, friendly?" she asked.

"Yeah, he is." Yugi grinned. "He cares about me and my friends a lot."

"What does he look like?"

"Well, a lot like me actually. Only a little more, um…" he trailed off. How did he explain the difference?

"Wait a minute!" Hidekazu exclaimed. "You look different when you're dueling, we've seen you on TV."

Yugi sighed in relief. "Yeah, he takes over my body during duels most of the time. Don't worry; he never does it without permission. He and I work together."

"Okay," Hidekazu replied slowly. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, but Yugi apparently trusted this spirit, and Yugi likely knew more about this magic stuff than he did. "And some of this magic stuff in your life has to do with him."

"Actually, most of it has to do with him. What I want to tell you involves him a lot, and…" he sighed.

"Yugi?" Momose placed her hand on her son's shoulder.

He didn't look at them. "A lot of stuff's happened, guys. But the spirit of the Puzzle, the Pharaoh—he's my friend. We—me and my friends—we've gotten into a lot of trouble, but none of it was his fault. I don't want you hate him because of some of the things that happened." Yugi pleaded.

Hidekazu and Momose glanced at each other. "We can't promise anything Yugi, not yet," said Momose. "Mostly because we don't know what to think. You have to admit, this is a lot to take in."

"Yeah, I guess," Yugi admitted. "Will you promise to listen to the whole story before you decide anything?"

Hidekazu nodded. "I think we can do that." Momose nodded in agreement.

"Okay." Yugi nodded. Then he called Shadi in.

"You are all ready?" Shadi asked, closing the door behind him. They all nodded.

"I want to show them everything," said Yugi.

Shadi dipped his head, raised his Millennium Key, the ancient object glowing as the room spun and they landed in the Game Shop the day of Yugi's first duel with Kaiba.

Hidekazu and Momose watched in stunned amazement as the events unfolded before their eyes, with Yugi providing a narrative to help them understand what was happening. The first duel against the evil sprit of the Ring left them stunned.

"You okay, Mom?" Yugi asked worriedly. "You know everything turned out all right."

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, clutching the area over her heart. She grinned when Yugi destroyed the evil Bakura and ended the duel. "You know, you looked cute in that Dark Magician outfit."

"Mom!"

The next major scare was the duel against Pegasus. Yugi snickered as Hidekazu shouted "In your face Pegasus!" when Yugi and the Pharaoh destroyed the toons. His father growled at the man when the Shadow Realm engulfed the dueling arena and Momose nearly choked when Yugi passed out. Both parents smirked as the Pharaoh obliterated Pegasus's Thousand-Eyes Restrict and Yugi announced their victory.

Hidekazu muttered curses under his breath when they came to the duel with a brainwashed Bandit Keith, especially after the warehouse caught fire.

"I couldn't leave the Puzzle behind, Dad, you have to understand that!" Yugi begged.

"I know Yugi. If it had been one of _my_ friends, I wouldn't have budged either."

Yugi knew Battle City would probably give his parents nightmares. As his parents watched his past self duel Rare Hunter after Rare Hunter, he begged his them to not blame Yami for anything that happened, and thankfully, they didn't. "He didn't ask for that to happen Yugi," said Momose, "and it was Marik and the Rare Hunters' choice to stake lives and limbs on those duels. Not his."

Yugi smiled.

Finally, the time Yugi had dreaded showing them came to pass. The Orichalcos. His parents froze in place when Yami played the Seal and struggled to remain standing when Yugi took his place. Yugi feared they would hate the spirit for it. Frantically, he thought of how he could explain the following events to convince his mom and dad to not hate the Pharaoh, since Yugi thought the memory viewing would end there.

To his surprise, it wasn't. "The Pharaoh shared his memories with you, Yugi," Shadi explained. "Therefore your parents can view them as well." But Yugi's parents remained silent until Yugi's soul was returned to his body, where they breathed a sigh of relief. "Is it over?" asked Hidekazu. "Was Dartz stopped?"

"Not quite," said Yugi apologetically.

Yugi could've sworn he heard his mother curse under her breath when the Leviathan rose from the ocean anyway, and later again as its essence refused to die and tried to kill the Pharaoh. Dead silence permeated the room as Yami finally sealed away the black serpent for the rest of eternity.

Finally, the memory viewing was over. Shadi withdrew to the corridor to give them some privacy.

The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours until Yugi couldn't take it anymore. "Guys?" he asked. They glanced up. "Please don't blame the Pharaoh for what happened. It wasn't entirely his fault, and he did everything he could to get me back after it happened. He already hates himself for it, he's already suffered a lot for it…"

Hidekazu raised his hand. "Don't worry Yugi. I'll admit I was angry with him at first, but when I saw him after it happened, I couldn't stay mad. And he went through a lot to save you. I don't hate him," he said sincerely.

"Neither do I," said Momose. "He's done a lot for you, helped you make friends. And I can tell how much he regretted playing that card. And he managed to beat the darkness in his heart. We don't hate him." She smiled gently, honestly.

"You forgive him?" Yugi asked hopefully. They nodded, smiling in reassurance. Yugi sighed in relief. He hadn't expected it to be that easy.

"So," Yugi asked after a while, "are you guys okay?"

Momose smiled tiredly. "I'm not sure, exactly. I think we just need some time to process everything."

"Okay," Yugi replied, glancing down nervously.

Hidekazu noticed. "Hey, don't worry," he said, laying his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "What we saw doesn't change how we love you."

Yugi perked up, grinning. "Thanks. That means a lot."

They fell silent again, much more comfortable than before. Yugi smiled to himself. His parents knew everything now, and they didn't hate Yami for anything, as they could've easily done. It surprised him, but then it didn't. His parents were similar to him when it came to forgiveness.

_I bet the Pharaoh would like to hear that,_ he thought to himself. _Hold on…_

"Guys?"

"Hmm," they answered.

"Do you want to meet him? The Pharaoh?"

Their eyes bulged. "S-sure," said Hidekazu.

"But how can we? I thought people could only talk to him if he takes over your body," replied Momose.

"We're in my mind," Yugi explained. "And my mind has two chambers. You can meet him here, trust me."

"By entering his room?" asked Momose.

Yugi frowned. "That might not be a good idea. His room's got a lot of traps inside. The hallway's probably our best bet," he said as he pulled them back into the hallway and knocked on the Pharaoh's door. "Wait here. I better tell him what's going on," he ordered as he stepped inside.

Hidekazu and Momose stood in the hallway, feeling increasingly nervous as they waited for Yugi. And the Pharaoh. Despite the memories they'd seen, they didn't know him personally, and they weren't sure what he thought of them.

The door suddenly flew open and Yugi stepped back into the hallway, tugging along a teenager with nervousness written all over his face.

They gasped. Despite seeing him in Yugi's memories beforehand, it still hadn't prepared them for their first face-to-face meeting.

"Guys, meet the Pharaoh. Pharaoh, meet my parents, Hidekazu and Momose Muto."

"Um, hi," said Momose, suddenly tongue-tied.

"Hey." Hidekazu's business leader voice failed him for the first time.

It helped a little to see the Pharaoh was having just as much trouble. "Hello," he began uncertainly.

"Yugi!" a voice echoed throughout the corridor. It sounded like Tea.

"I am afraid it is time to leave," said Shadi, emerging from the shadows.

"What, now?" protested Yugi.

"I am sorry Yugi, but your mind is waking up, and we cannot remain here when it does." With that, Shadi raised his Key and he, Hidekazu, and Momose vanished from the corridor.

* * *

To be continued.

Credit for the ideas of Yugi's parents finding out about Yami, the events in Yugi's life, and accepting the Pharaoh go to Youngbountygirl, not me.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again, I don't own Yugioh

Meeting the Parents

Yugi didn't blame Shadi. The man was just doing his job and had been trying pay a debt, as Yugi assured him when he appeared to him when Yugi was taking an early morning walk the next day. Truthfully, Yugi was thankful to Shadi. The guardian had handled the most difficult part of telling his parents about his life; Yugi could take care of the rest.

As soon as Yugi woke up, he phoned his parents, trying to straighten things out. His parents reassured him it was okay, they could hopefully meet the Pharaoh another time. It was better this way, they reasoned. They could have a chance to process everything they'd learned and the Pharaoh would have more time to recover from defeating the Leviathan. There would be time later; Hidekazu had finally managed to get a two-week vacation starting in about a month, and maybe they could meet the Pharaoh then. Yugi was still disappointed, but he thought it was the best they could do. Meanwhile, he had to reassure the Pharaoh multiple times that his parents forgave the spirit completely. Yami wasn't quite so sure.

Neither of them had time to dwell on it though. The whole incident was pushed to the back of both their minds when Mokuba arrived in the helicopter and invited them to Kaibaland for the KC Grand Championship. His parents had told Yugi to enjoy the tournament and have fun, and he did, especially when watching the duel between Joey and Solomon, and dueling for the short amount of time he and Leon could duel normally after getting rid of Zigfried's castle

After the tournament was over, Yugi and the others had met up with Mokuba, who told them they could board the KaibaCorp jet in about six hours. In the meantime, they could hang out at the park or travel around the city if they wanted. Mokuba just told them to be at the airport on time.

Yugi snuck out the back door out of the Blue-Eyes fortress to avoid the crowds for a while. He'd gotten better with them the last few months, but he still wanted some peace and quiet after all this. He enjoyed dueling, but right now, all he wanted was to eat and relax.

Before he wandered too far from the fortress, however, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. _Aw man, I thought nobody saw me leave except for my friends._ Turning to face what he thought was a fan possibly wanting an autograph or a duel, his face lit up when he saw who it was.

"Hey champ!" Hidekazu exclaimed. "Congratulations!" Momose stood right behind him, smiling proudly.

"Mom! Dad!" Yugi jumped into their arms, hugging them tight. "When did you get here?"

"About fifteen minutes before your duel with Leon started," Momose replied. "We heard about the KC Grand Championship on the news and realized it was only a couple hours from the town we're staying in. So we decided to drop by and figured we'd surprise you. Looks like it worked."

Yugi laughed. "Yeah, it did. How'd you find me?"

"We figured you'd want a break from the crowds and try to sneak out a backdoor. It's what I would've done," Hidekazu explained. "So after the duel, we managed to fight our way through the crowds and find the back door, and you were just pushing through."

Yugi smiled.

"Want to go out for dinner, Yugi? Maybe pick up some pasta from a restaurant and take it to a park?"

"That sounds awesome! Let's go!" On the way to the car, Yugi called Tea and told her about meeting his parents and asked her to tell their friends he would be having lunch with them. Tea agreed, but Joey snagged the phone and told Yugi to make sure he brought his parents back with him since none of them except Tea had met Yugi's father. Yugi agreed and hung up.

They drove around for about half an hour before they found a noodle shop and ordered three large orders of spaghetti to go. Then it only took them fifteen minutes of driving to find a relatively empty park and sit down on a rough wooden picnic table about thirty or so feet from the playground and begin chowing down, chatting in between bites. Hidekazu told Yugi about his business and how he was applying for a position in Domino so he could come home every night instead of less than once a year, and at the moment, the prospect looked promising, though he wouldn't know until later. Momose described some of the sites in the city that Hidekazu had taken her to when she arrived, such as the park with a lake, a creek and a variety of trees. Yugi gave them the play-by-play of Joey's duel with Solomon, and laughter echoed through the trees as he told them about how Joey didn't recognize Solomon until he took the mask off.

After a while, Yugi glanced at his parents, curiosity and a little worry in his eyes. "So, how have you guys been?"

Hidekazu and Momose slowly put down their forks. "We've been holding up okay Yugi," replied Hidekazu. "It took us a while, but we're getting used to the idea of magic and Pharaohs. It's still weird, but I also think it's kind of cool."

"So do I. Well, I don't know about cool, but it's definitely fascinating," Momose agreed.

"That's good to know," said Yugi.

Silence stretched between them. "So, Yugi, how's the Pharaoh holding up?" Momose asked hesitantly.

"He's fine," said Yugi. _Well, he's mostly fine,_ Yugi corrected himself.

"Good."

"Do you guys still want to meet him?" Yugi hesitantly asked after a few minutes.

"Um, sure, why not," Hidekazu replied in surprise.

"Is now okay?" Yugi asked carefully.

"Yes, of course," said Momose. Then Momose noticed Yugi looking uneasy. "Is something wrong Yugi?"

"No, not with me. You guys just seem a little unsure about this."

Hidekazu smiled apologetically. "We are, a little. The whole concept of there being a spirit of a Pharaoh in your body is still a little weird for us. But we do want to meet him. He seems like a good friend, and you obviously care a lot about him."

Yugi nodded, but then glanced down. "I guess I'm a little worried about him too."

"Is he okay?"

Yugi sighed. "The other night was a little weird for him. He knows about you guys, but he doesn't really _know_ you, and he was _really_ nervous about meeting you. I think he's afraid that you'll hate him for some of the stuff that's happened."

"Didn't you tell him we don't?"

"Yeah, I told him, but I don't think he believed it." Yugi paused. "Mom, Dad, can I just ask you guys something?" he asked abruptly after a few moments.

"Of course," they replied.

"Could you treat the Pharaoh like he was your son?" he asked. Hidekazu and Momose stared. Yugi sighed. "The Pharaoh's one of my best friends, and sometimes he's like a brother. He cares about me and my friends. He's lost his own memory, but he's always been there for me, and I want him to feel happy too. Could you guys treat him like he really _is_ my brother? Your son?"

Hidekazu and Momose glanced at each other. Then they turned to Yugi and gave him a firm nod. "All right, we will."

Yugi grinned. "Thanks guys. Thanks a lot!" An idea struck him. "Do you mind if he takes over for the rest of dinner? You still need to meet him. Just saying 'hi' to each other in my mind doesn't count!"

Momose giggled. "Sure."

"And…" Yugi hesitated. "Can you tell him that you don't hate him for anything in the past? I told him, but like I already said, I don't think he completely believed me."

"Sure thing," replied Hidekazu.

"All right. One second." Yugi willed himself into the corridor between his mind and the Pharaoh's. "Pharaoh," he called, "are you awake?"

The door swung open. "Yes Yugi, I'm awake. What is it?" he asked curiously.

"My parents came to see our duel!" Yugi exclaimed. "And they took me out to dinner!" He didn't tell the Pharaoh that he himself would be continuing that dinner.

Yami's eyes widened slightly. "That's wonderful Yugi!" He smiled. He knew little of Yugi's parents, but he knew they didn't often get to have dinner together as a family and how much it meant to Yugi.

Yugi kept the smile on his face as he silently willed the Pharaoh to take over. _I hope I can do this._ To his surprise, it worked. Yugi sensed the Pharaoh stumble into control of his body and immediately bolted his own mind in place so Yami couldn't retreat to his room again.

Yami had no warning. One second he was standing in front of his soul room door, the next minute he found himself sitting on a picnic table across from Yugi's wide-eyed parents. He paled and stiffened. _Yugi, what is the meaning of this! _he demanded in his mind.

Yugi snickered. _Did I mention that dinner is still going on? And that you're finishing it?_

_What?_ Was Yugi serious?

_Sorry Pharaoh, but Shadi can't bail you out of this one. It's time you guys officially met. Enjoy the spaghetti!_

And with that, Yugi blocked Yami out and retreated deeper into his mind, so deep that the Pharaoh was trapped in control of the body much like he had been when Yugi made him spend the day with Tea.

_I thought I told him to not do this again!_ Yami thought, inwardly facepalming as he reluctantly returned his attention to the outside world, and to Yugi's parents, his heart beating a million miles a minute. "Hello," he said cautiously.

"Hello," Momose returned. Hidekazu gave him a "hi," and silence fell, extremely uncomfortable.

The second hand on Yugi's black wristwatch ticked sixty times

Hidekazu commented about the weather. The Pharaoh agreed that it was beautiful.

Thirty ticks.

Momose congratulated both him and Yugi on a duel well fought. Yami shrugged.

Another sixty ticks.

Finally, Hidekazu and Momose couldn't take the silence anymore. Sure, it was strange meeting him, but from what they observed, the Pharaoh was nervous around them, anxious of what they thought of him. And that was the last thing they wanted.

Small talk wouldn't cut it, so Hidekazu decided to cut right to the chase. "You know, we don't hate you for anything that's happened to Yugi."

The Pharaoh flinched and dropped his fork. "What?" he asked. _How is that possible? And how did they know that's what I was thinking?_

"We don't hate you for anything that's happened. We've forgiven you," Momose repeated.

"How?" Yami was completely flabbergasted. Parents were supposed to be protective of their children, and he'd led Yugi into far too many dangerous situations in their time together. People hurt Yugi to get to the Pharaoh.

"We could tell you never wanted Yugi to get hurt. And you always tried your best to protect him," replied Momose. "You never asked for the Rare Hunters, Marik, that spirit from the ring, or anyone else to hurt Yugi. I remember you telling them to leave Yugi alone."

"But I've hurt him as well. The Seal…he was captured because of me."

"Nobody's perfect," countered Hidekazu sternly. "And you made things right when you saved Yugi and defeated that Leviathan."

The Pharaoh had never felt so thrown in his life. He knew Yugi well, so he hadn't been as confused when Yugi forgave him right away. His friends he was still puzzling over. But Yugi's parents too? How was this possible?

Hidekazu and Momose glanced worriedly at the Pharaoh. He seemed to be locked in debate within himself, and they weren't sure what to do.

"Pharaoh?" Momose asked, gently placing her hand on his lower arm.

The Pharaoh looked startled at the contact, but he didn't pull away. "Does a forgiving nature run in the family?" he asked, carefully controlled awe in his voice.

Hidekazu shook his head. "No, Yugi's the only one I know who was born with that. He's the lucky one. I learned how to forgive the hard way."

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes. _What does that mean_, he wondered to himself.

Mr. Muto caught the young man's questioning look. "I got into a bad argument with one of my friends once, when I was about Yugi's age. He'd borrowed an autographed baseball of mine and lost it in a lake. I was furious with him. He tried to make up the next the day, but I just blew him off. Even though I knew he'd never meant to hurt me, I hurt him about as much, if not more, than he did me. A week later, his parents called and told me he was in the hospital, comatose after a car accident, and they didn't think he was going to make it. I felt like a complete jerk, and I've never forgiven myself completely for it."

Yami's eyes widened as he listened to the story.

"He managed to pull through, but that whole experience was a wake-up call for me, telling me I shouldn't hold grudges against people, especially if they didn't mean harm to begin with." He smiled. "I saw you in Yugi's memories. I can tell you care about him, and that you never wanted him hurt. If you'd known playing that card would end with Yugi's soul being captured…" He smirked slightly. "I'm pretty sure you'd have ripped the card to shreds the moment that guy gave it to you."

The Pharaoh's expression answered that question.

"So no, I don't hate you. And I don't plan on starting to."

Yami nervously turned his eyes to Mrs. Muto.

"Nobody's perfect, Pharaoh. I had a friend too, once. She and I did everything together. Her parents were gone a lot, so she often biked to my house to hang out. At school, we were some of the kids who got picked on a lot; and it always bothered her more than me. Anyway, we only had each other, and I trusted her with everything." Momose frowned. "Then one day, in high school, the 'popular group' approached her and offered her their friendship if she gave them dirt on me to spread around the school. And she did."

Yami's eyes widened.

"As you can imagine, I was furious with her. We'd been there for each other, and she turned on me. I swore I would never forgive her for it. Later, the 'popular group' dumped her and spread rumors about her instead. She came to me and begged for forgiveness. I refused. She stopped by my house, offered to take care of my chores, sent me cookies, helped me with my homework, you name it. I still refused to forgive her," Momose shook her head, regret lines creasing her face.

She glanced up. The Pharaoh was still listening, completely engrossed in her story as he had been in Hidekazu's.

"Later, I saw her attempt to jump off a bridge. I was mad at her, but I wasn't murderous. I managed to stop her, and she spilled her heart out. I knew her well enough to know she wasn't lying. Apparently her parents had been pressuring her about everything: her grades, her friends, her social life. I don't think they meant any real harm, but she felt like she was drowning, and cracked under the pressure when she betrayed me for the popular kids. Then when they dumped her, she came back to me, but I refused to listen. I was so focused on being angry with her that I never really asked why she did it, never bothered to find. I'm not stupid; I'd realized she was genuinely sorry when she tried everything to make up with me, but I refused to acknowledge it because I focused on my anger. And it nearly cost her her life. She had betrayed me, yes, but _I_ also betrayed _her_."

"What happened to her?" Yami asked.

"We took her to counseling, and she was able to get help. Her parents were informed and they lightened up on her. She's still one of my best friends today. I realized that day that nobody's perfect, and while we all fall sometime and hurt others, we also have to realize that other people will fall too. Including Pharaohs." She eyed him. "We understand that you're not perfect. What's important is that you did everything you could to correct your actions."

Yami was completely stunned. This whole dinner together with Yugi's parents was going far differently than he ever could have imagined, and it was one experience he was never going to forget. He could only manage a "Thank you," as they continued eating, settling into a thoughtful silence.

Fifteen minutes later, Hidekazu and Momose noticed that the Pharaoh had only finished about half of his remaining spaghetti. "You're going to finish that, aren't you?" asked Hidekazu.

"Hmm," the Pharaoh asked, slightly startled.

"When we eat," Momose clarified, "we expect everyone at the table to empty their plates. Or takeout boxes in this case."

Yami glanced down, as if just noticing his food.

Hidekazu tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "You know, Yugi asked us to do something just before he switched places with you."

"And what was that?" asked the Pharaoh curiously, sipping from his water glass. He'd already decided Yugi was off the hook for forcing the switch on him.

"He asked us to treat you like his brother," said Momose, "like another son."

The Pharaoh nearly choked. "Did he?" he asked after he got his breath back, not even trying to hide his surprise.

Hidekazu nodded. "Yes. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all." Yami smiled slightly. "I think I'd like that."

"Good," said Momose. "Then I expect you to finish that." She pointed to the spaghetti.

The Pharaoh nodded.

"And you're going to finish your plate each time."

Yami raised his eyebrows. "Hmm?"

"We'll be coming home in about a month," said Hidekazu, "and if you know Yugi at all, then you know this won't be the last time he switches places with you during mealtimes."

Yami grinned. "No, it won't be."

"Which means you'll likely be eating with us again. And when that happens, we expect you to eat everything on your plate. It's a _family_ rule," said Momose.

The Pharaoh chuckled. "Understood," he replied as he picked up his fork.

* * *

The End

Once again, I must give credit where it's due. The idea of Yugi's parents finding out about Yami and agreeing to treat him like another son came from Youngbountygirl and her At-Em-Oh fics, and is used with her permission.


End file.
